How to pick a popular celebrity
2013/01/25 6:00 AM
One of the fastest ways to get your product seen is to find the most popular celebrities each month. Magazines tend to find their “favorites” and then stalk them. By keeping track of who is popular is a fairly easy task. No matter where you live, here are a few ways you can find the hotties and get them your products. The important thing is to act quickly. Celebs are often hot for a short time and you need to strike while the irons hot. This is no time to be timid. Once you find them, get in touch with their gatekeepers and send them a gift as quickly as possible.
Now that the Oscar wars are upon us……..get while the gettin’ is good…… Try to get your stuff to the celebs BEFORE they win as they are not quite as popular today as they might become on Oscar night!!
Try to find out as much as you can about the celeb you are choosing. If they have children, then perhaps that is the easiest way to get to them, maybe a new baby? Maybe you can create something in their favorite color. It is important to try to relate to them in some way if possible. They get tons of free stuff sent to them all the time and you want to find a way to make your product stand out.
In L.A. you often find special cordoned off areas for the paparazzi to watch and shoot photos as celebs do normal things like visit the pumpkin patch or buy Christmas trees. They also stalk them at parks and restaurants. Try to get a sense of their lifestyle and see if you can send something that they will use so you can get a photo.
1. The Emmy and Oscar winners, Golden Globes, SAG etc……. check out the winners. They are HOT and desirable. Do an online search of the winners and then decide which one(s) will be attractive to your target market and go after them. They will be basking in the limelight for a short period so move quickly.
2. Be aware of moving openings each month and watch to see if it’s a hit. Most celebs that have a hit movie are out and about (and therefore photographed a lot). They are usually in Los Angeles or NYC for a press conference and the paparazzi is always chasing them. Try to see what they are doing or where they hang out to make your gifting as appropriate as possible as you want them to wear it, or use it, asap. Maybe the photos are at the beach, or in front of certain stores, at ice cream parlors, or even pushing a stroller. Be as observant as possible to make the most of your gift.
3. Weeklies are the #1 way to find the “hot” celebrities most of the year. These magazines pay top dollar (sometimes up to $10,000) for the “best” photos so the paparazzi is always out looking for their next big paycheck. The paparazzi is out everywhere in major cities. They stalk celebs in front of their homes, in restaurants, walking on the street and crashing their cars. Whatever they can get, they do. By reading the weeklies, you can stay on top of the current popular celebs and up your chances of getting a photo.
4. As we approach Oscar season, all the best movies of the year will be rolling out. Be sure to note who is being touted for nominations and send them something asap. And you know that if they win an Oscar they will be much harder to approach but you will have been a step ahead and might have already secured a photo of them with the product before they get even more famous.
Let me know how it goes!
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There are 9 comments
Monica Strobel says: Great tips, Sarah! I’ll have to become more of a magazine reader — usually pass on the celeb news. But the main question I still have: how do you find out where to send your stuff (“their gatekeepers” as you’ve called them)? Is your unsolicited stuff liable to be thrown away? I don’t mind sending if at least someone will benefit! Monica, America’s Complimentologist http://www.complimentquotient.com/store
Sarah Smith says: Hi Sarah,
Is there a website similar to the one listed above for Celebrity stylists?
Thanks!
Claudia says: How do you keep track if they have used your items? Also, who is the best person to contact, publicist, agent, or stylist?
Thanks!
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Claudia,
Great questions. The best person to contact is the PR or manager. If it strictly clothing, then you could try the stylist. I have a fun blog post on Hollywood stylists. You can keep track with a google alert, or just calling back to the person you contacted to be sure they got the item. Once they have it, then you might get a photo of them in it, or at least can put them on your celeb list – which counts a lot too.
Good luck
xoxo
Sarah
Ashley says: Hi Sarah, do you have an article on sample emails to send to celeb "gatekeepers" or stylists. I am not sure what to say, how long the message should be etc. thanks 😉
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Hi Ashley,
I don’t have sample letters to share with you, but I can say to keep it simple, write something short about your company and why you want to give it to the celeb. Are you a fan, do they support the same chairity as you do, is it for their child………..
Good luck,
xoxo
Sarah
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Tracy Leigh Hazzard and I chat about how to know if you have a hero or a zero before you put a lot of cash into making a product to determine if it will sell or not. Tracy gives a ton of ideas on how you can use FB groups, testing similar products on Amazon or Ebay, how to use peers, and even church groups to pre-test your idea before you invest in your idea. We cover the pros and cons of patents and if they are necessary, and how to handle criticism. Knowing if you have a hero or a zero can be the difference between success and failure from the first day of business.
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How to know if you have a hero or a zero — Sarah Shaw Consulting
sarahshawconsulting.com
How to know if you have a hero or a zero by testing your product before you invest heavily in producing it. Don't keep it a secret, show it to get feedback.